I have a non-daemon server app that my windows 2003 server needs to run all the time. The problem is, every time the server restarts, be it electricity or windows update, someone needs to press ctrl alt del and enter username/password. Then the program starts, as it's in startup. How do I make windows 2003 to automatically log in to administrator or spawn a terminal services session every time the system boots?

I know it's against the nature of servers and all. But this is the only thing the server does.

Thank you. Just what I was looking for.
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Ertugrul KaraFeb 12 '10 at 13:48

7

You can add this shortcut to your startup items to lock the machine after it logs in. technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc750823.aspx This lets your application run but doesn't leave your machine unsecured. I have used this successfully in a similar situation and it works perfectly.
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minamhereFeb 12 '10 at 15:39

I had the same situation a few years back. You can use the run command to open the old Users / Passwords by running "control userpasswords2" in the run dialog. It is easier to setup a user to auto login then the registry hack. I then had a script that would start the program I needed and lock the PC so it wasn't left unsecured. Like the link above "rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation" will lock the work station or server in this case.